Western Civ took a drive down to the LBC earlier this month to checkout the Inspiration Trade Show, hosted by our old friend Rin Tanaka. Originally Rin began the show at the Santa Monica Airport hangers. Last year he moved the event to Long Beach…Housed within the Queen Mary.

The show brings together a rather eclectic group of collectors, artisans and Americana manufacturers from Japan, Italy, France, South America and of course the good ol’ U.S. of A. . Inspiration is three floors of Vintage collector items, re-issue military goods, New and vintage motorcycle, surf, skate and Hot Rod products. A big kids dream!!!

Western Civ trolled the 3 floors meeting new people who love to ride.. and caught up with old friends who share the same passion for the culture that we do. The images here are just a small percentage of the color and creativity we found at the show. Thank You Rin for inviting us down to partake in the festivities…

A RATHER GRIM REGGAE LYRIC ONCE PROCLAIMED: “There’s six million ways to die—choose one.” Well, there’s even more ways than that in which you can annihilate yourself on a skateboard. In fact, you don’t have to choose. The trauma lottery never sleeps, and it’s waiting for you the moment you step on the grip. From curbs to waist-high rails, or from flatground to hill bombs, each slam is unique and it’s only a matter of time until this blood debt needs to be reckoned. And whether you’re supernaturally talented or staring down your first drop-in: Everyone pays. The skate/slam covenant is so assured it makes you wonder if there’s dark forces at work, beyond the naked eye, maintaining the sacred oath. Perhaps these invisible entities, Slam Demons if you will, operate something like this…

It’s usually skaters’ arms and legs that get decimated daily. So, when a full-on chest blitz goes down, the first reaction is surprise. Then, the inability to breathe oxygen and sustain life (namely, your own) becomes an urgent concern. Meanwhile, your friends already posted the footage online and it’s a hit on Facebark. The clip went viral and so will your staph infection.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? You can ponder this paradox as you scrape both your palms off the ground, but basically it’s “Murder, She Wrote.” Wheelbite can be caused by loose trucks, a rock, or a crack. But sometimes it’s the fangs of a spiteful beast who just wanted to see you take a dive, dude.

Forget high interest rates, this slam has the most cruel payment plan of all. An out-of-control board, by way of rocket flip or some other mishap, can quickly become a vertical junk-crusher. For our friends 5’ 6” and under, this one can be pure testicular brutality.

Good griptape you don’t even think about. It keeps you on board when the going gets rough, and when you need to eject, she’ll let you go. Yet, that which giveth can taketh away, and a one-foot-on/one-foot-off slam you won’t soon forget. Rarely seen outside of gymnastics or the dancefloor, the splits will end any session. You can also call it the James Brown or the Van Damme.

Tendons and ligaments don’t ask for much. They just request that you stay within a normal range of motion. When a demonic steamroller parks on top of your foot at an unnatural angle, it’s a deal breaker. You and your ankle will not be on speaking (or walking) terms for several weeks.

Transitions are a blast. Experiencing them on your face? Not so much. When your board gets hi-jacked by the coping, just remember the Transition Gods require a human sacrifice. It’s nothing personal. And don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing…until you hit the flatbottom. Hey, it’s why the trick is called a disaster.

Dennis the Menace was the comic-strip character whose ill-placed skateboard would often send his neighbor, Mr. Wilson, spilling onto the ground, ass-first. Don’t get it twisted, though. This charming heels-over-head comic scenario never included the snapped tailbone and severe thigh hemorrhage that an actual slam-dance can serve up.

Yoga is supposed to be tranquil and meditative, but this monster mash distributes your weight to where you can least support it: Your goddamn neck. This can be the jolt-of-a-lifetime and you’re lucky if you live to tell. When it comes to Slam Demons, there’s no escape. So as you await their arrival, do a rolling tumble when you can, get those arms out if you can’t, and happy skating…

The clever craftsmen over at Shwood have finished a novel experiment. They wanted to see if they could make a kick-ass pair of sunglasses out of cracked skateboard wood. What do you think?

Watch the video below for a window into the full process from LA skate session to Portland laser slicing. It’s skating until about 1:35 in, then it’s all reverent wood shop.

“These sunglasses aren’t for sale, we just wanted to try something new and show people what’s possible,” Shwood’s Taylor Murray wrote in an email to GOOD.

As we’ve reported before, Shwood makes wood eyeglasses born out of a philosophy that we can all connect with nature a bit more, and in more creative ways. They want us to appreciate the natural beauty around us… and wear it!

In this experiment, Shwood’s Eric Singer takes to the streets of LA with skate pro-cum-clothing entrepreneur, Keith “Huf” Hufnagel. When a board snaps, Singer collects the deck and heads back to Shwood’s Portland workshop—with camera crew in tow—to make the pair of shades you see above.

This is “experiment 1” for Shwood, so we’ll see what salvaged supplies they’ll chop up next. Watch the whole video: